Intel’s drone light show and other things you missed at AUVSI Xponential

AUVSI XPonential 2017– the conference put on by the Association for Unmanned vehicle System — is in full swing this week at the Dallas Convention Center in Texas.

Among the top draws of the show — an indoor presentation of its drones, flying live for audiences at AUVSI. During the keynote, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich announced the next version of the Intel Shooting Star drone for outdoor light shows, and said Intel will work with key partners to scale these performances globally. Audiences were then treated to a live demo of the drones.

The Shooting Star drones are a form of nighttime entertainment that could replace fireworks by making light shapes in the sky, and have performed at spots including Coachella, the Super Bowl and Walt Disney World.

The show was also an opportunity for companies to demo new products or announce new initiatives. Grpyon Sensors announced its plan for UTM involving sensors to detect drones. Drone detection company Gryphon Sensors this week announced that it had launched a system for drone traffic management which it calls Mobile Skylight. The system combines self-contained sensors with third-party sensor inputs to record flight data, using radar to detect low-flying drones at ranges of 10 kilometers. Grpyon Sensors is a non-profit research corporation chartered by the State of New York and has been contributing to the Federal Aviation Administration’s Pathfinder Program and NASA’s UAS Traffic Management (UTM) program

As for other things you missed, what’s a conference without a huge show floor? Here are some gems: